Tensioning means



Patented Mar. 16, 1937 PATENT OFFICE TENSIONING MEANS Henry J. A Viens,Pawtucket, R. I., assignor to Lorraine Manufacturing Company, Pawtucket,R. I., a corporation of Rhode Island Application June 8, 1933, SerialNo. 674,853

1 Claim.

means whereby the desired tension may be applied to such yarns as rayon,acetate, raw silk and cotton.

. In the mechanical handling of yarn, as where it is transposed from onecarrier to another by mechanical means, it is essential that a propertension be imposed and maintained upon the yarn to insure uniformity inproduct. This is not ordinarily a difiicult matter where the yarn is ofsufiicient size and consistence to maintain its initial status but wherethe, yarn is easily stretched the application of tension thereto hascaused considerable trouble. This is particularly so where rayon yarn orthe like isbeing pulled since a yarn of this type easily stretches andbecomes finer as it elongates. Indeed it is not uncommon to start with adesired count or denier and discover in the course of travel of thisyarn that it has been changed to appreciably different counts or deniersthroughout its length.

Heretofore it has been the accepted practice to wind the yarn on spoolsand to pull it therefrom while permitting the spool to rotate. Thisalone has a marked effect on the yarn and what is worse has a varyingeffect, because obviously the pull necessary to rotate a well-filledspool is greater than that required to rotate the same spool as itbecomes more nearly empty. Numerous devices have been proposed with theend in view of effecting a proper tension and of maintaining thattension unchanged, but so far as I am aware these devices have beenapplied to yarn drawn from rotating spools and thus have not succeededin overcoming or counteracting the varying effect due to the changingresistance offered by the rotating spool.

It isa principal object of the present invention to provide simple andinexpensive means for imposing and accurately maintaining a desiredtension on fine yarns. To avoid the hitherto troublesome effect of arotating spool, it is a feature of the present invention to draw or pullthe yarn from a fixed spool in such manner as to impose no appreciablerestriction on the yarn movement.

Indeed the freedom with which the yarn leaves the spool is so great thatit is an object of the invention to provide means to check this movementand keep it within due bounds. And of course it is an important objectto'provide a tension device capable of very fine and almost unlimitedadjustment for actually applying and maintaining a desired uniformtension.

The. improved means embodying the present particular use.

definitely limited.

invention can beus ed with any kind of machine where yarn is drawn orpulled. It is herein shown in its application to a warper but this ismerely illustrative and it is to be understood as not limiting the scopeof the invention to such 5 On the contrary it is intended that thepatent shall cover by suitable expression in the appended claim whateverfeatures of pat entable novelty exist in the invention as a Whole.

. In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is an elevation showing the improved means applied to the creelof a warper; and.

Figure 2 is an enlarged view, in section, showing details.

Referring nowmore particularly to the drawing, the creel of the warper,represented by the upright members I and 2, is provided with numerousspindles 3 on each of which it has heretofore been the practice to placea rotatable spool carrying the yarn to be pulled. The yarns thus drawnfrom the spools pass thence to the warper front where the aggregation iswound on a suitable drum or other carrier. When a spool filled with yarnis placed on the creel spindle the force required to rotate it is atfirst very appreciable due to the friction caused by the weight of thefilled spool but this force becomes smaller as the spool becomes empty.This force is of course transmitted by the yarn itself and if the yarnis very fine and of such make-up as rayon, for example, this transmittedpull will cause the yarn to stretch lineally and become thinner orfiner. This is not only exceedingly objectionable where uniformity ofproduct is desired, but results in many breaks of the yarn andmaterially slows up the production of the machine. Also more attentionmust be paid to the machine and the number of yarns that an operativecan attend is rather In place of the ordinary and customary rotatablespool, the present invention makes possible the use of a fixed spool 4.This spool may have a truly cylindrical body 4a as shown, or may have atruncated body. The yarn surface (represented by the dot and dash liness) in either case is of truncated configuration and the yarn 5 is woundhelically. The filled spool is placed on the spindle with its larger end4b adjacent the creel frame member I, there being preferably a cushion 6of lambskin or the like against which the spool end abuts. The smallerend 40 of the spool projects toward the outer member 2 and in thelatter, substantially in alignment with axis of the spool, is mounted atube 1.

This tube may be entirely of porcelain or as illustrated have porcelaineyes la at the ends of a metal or composition cylinder 1b. The functionof this tube is two-fold, in that it guides the yarn with uniformity tothe tension device and also prevents the snarling or tangling of theyarn leaving the spool. As will presently appear, the yarn is pulled ordrawn from the spool, or indeed it might be said to be lifted therefrom,and since in this movement it necessarily unwinds, it has a markedtendency to whip about. Were it not for the tube, this tendency to whipmight easily, and in fact would, cause a rather large loop to be formedbetween the spool and the tension device. If this loop should becomecrossed or the yarn should snarl breakage would promptly follow, but bysuitable proportioning the tube, both as to its internal size and itslength, the loop of the yarn caused by the centrifugal force acting uponit, can be limited so that the yarn nicely clears the small end of thespool with no undesirable excess. This is advantageous as it permits thespools on the creel to be positioned relatively close to one anotherwithout danger of the yarns interfering.

Beyond the tube in the direction of travel of the yarn is applicantsimproved means for applying the tension. This consists of simple roller8 mounted on a vertical spindle 9. The roller has a concave surface 8a,and it is a feature of the invention that part, or all, of this surfaceis made of rubber or like composition. It has been found that rubber ofabout the same consistency as is used in automobile tires is especiallysuitable as the operating surface of the roller. Such a surface preventsany slipping of the yarn and insures its passage thereon withthe desireduniformity. The yarn from the tube is passed one or more times aroundthe roller as shown and thence is led by suitable guides Hi to thewarper front.

The roller spindle 9 may be of porcelain suitably mounted on a support Il. Interposed between the roller and this support is a loose steelwasher I2 having a finished surface on which the roller rests and turns.The vertical spindle extends upward beyond the roller so that one ormore washers l3 may be placed on the roller and retained there by thespindle. These washers are weights by means of which the frictiongenerated between the roller and the lower washer may be regulated. Ifconsiderable tension is desired, the roller is relatively heavilyweighted, if little or very light tension is required, only a very smallweight is placed on the roller.

In practice the variation of tension can be readily checked and theweight washers suitably marked or colored to indicate to the operativethe effect such washer, when placed on the roller, will have on thetension. In this way, the adjustment of the tension is exceedinglysimpleand almost limitless, as of course washers of any differentweights may be used.

Since there is no appreciable drag on the yarn between the roller andthe spool, the tension is at all times controlled by the roller and itsWeights and since this control is in no wise affected by the emptying ofthe spool, the tension is maintained at the desired amount. This amountwill of course be such as to cause no stretching or thinning of the yarnand only sufficient in amount to insure the numerous yarns being woundon the front carrier with the necessary uniformity. Such light tensionobviously imposes no breaking stress on the yarn and one of the markedadvantages of the invention is thereby realized. One operative canattend many more yarns, indeed in some cases, it has been found that oneoperative can supervise the operation of several machines, each handlingmany yarns. And since the yarn is unchanged, because of the lighttension made possible by this invention, the product of a mill employingthe improved tensioning means is of unusual uniformity and strength.

I claim as my invention:

Yarn controlling means for a warper or the like having a creel with ayarn supplying spool mounted fixedly thereon with its axis substantiallyhorizontal, and means for pulling the yarn therefrom, comprising, incombination, a bracket mounted on said creel having a horizontallydisposed surface; a non-rotatable spindle attached at its lower end tosaid bracket and upstanding therefrom with its axis vertical; a washerrotatable on said spindle and lying on the horizontally disposed surfaceof the bracket and having on its opposite side a smooth surface; aroller rotatable on said spindle having a smooth surface resting on thesmooth surface of the aforesaid washer and having a grooved face; a bandof rubber lying in said grooved face and constituting a surface aroundwhich the yarn is wound so as to rotate the roller during the pulling ofthe yarn; a washer resting. on said roller to control the frictionalresistance between the smooth surface thereof and the smooth surface ofthe washer below the roller, whereby the desired tension on the yarn iseffected; and a tube having a diameter less than the width of thegrooved face of the roller and having a length several times greaterthan its diameter mounted on the creel with its axis substantially inalignment with the axis of the supply spool, with one end closelyadjacent to the rubber.

surface of the roller and with its other end near the delivery end ofthe spool, whereby the yarn is withdrawn from the spool in approximatealignment with its surface and guided uniformly to the rubber surface ofthe roller.

HENRY J. VIENS.

